DP World posts record volume of 70 million TEU and 10.1% volume growth in 2017

DP World has handled 70.1
million TEUs across its global portfolio of container terminals in the full
year of 2017, with gross container volumes growing by 10.1 percent year-on-year
on a reported basis and 9.7 percent on a like-for-like basis, ahead of Drewry
Maritime’s global container throughput growth estimate of 6.0 percent for 2017.

In the
fourth quarter, the global portfolio grew 10.3 percent year-on-year on a
reported basis and 9.9 percent on a like-for-like basis with consistent
performance across all three DP World regions and particularly strong
contributions from the terminals in Europe, Americas and Middle East &
Africa, said the global trade enabler in a press release. The UAE handled 15.4
million TEU in 2017 up by 4.0 percent year-on-year.

At a
consolidated level, the terminals handled 36.5 million TEU in 2017, a 24.7
percent improvement in performance on a reported basis and up 6.2 percent
year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. Reported consolidated volume in the Asia
Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region was boosted by the consolidation of
Pusan (South Korea) in December 2016.

DP World
Group chairman and chief executive officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented,
“Benefitting from the improved trading environment and market share gains, our
global portfolio once again delivered ahead-of-market growth in 2017 and has
seen strong performance across all three regions. Over the years, we have
deployed the relevant deep-water capacity in key markets, focusing on a
diversified portfolio which continues to benefit from the recovery in global
trade. We are also pleased to see stable performance in the UAE as volumes
continue to grow in the fourth quarter of 2017 amidst uncertainty in the region
and tougher year-over-year comparables. The performance across our other
terminals in the Middle East & Africa remains strong in addition to Europe
and the Americas.”

“As we look ahead into
2018, we expect to continue to grow ahead of the market and see increased
contributions from our new developments. We continue to seek opportunities in
complementary sectors in the global supply chain and will maintain capital
expenditure discipline by bringing on capacity in line with demand. Given the
strong volume performance of our portfolio, we are well placed to meet full
year 2017 market expectations,” he added.